Gaetanne Lavoie’s Subjects Yearn for Freedom and Fantasy

New York based artist Gaetanne Lavoie experiments with conveying emotional and mental conflict in her figurative oil paintings. Many of her works depict vibrant and whimsical scenes, while also exuding a certain somberness and yearning. In her statement, she writes, “Through my experiences, I have realized how important the contradictions are… Within the perceived ‘negative’ emotional state of being is beauty, to which the contradictions no longer fight against each other, but rather, work in harmony creating a most delectable state of being.” Lavoie models her figures with realism, inspired by the expressive sculptures of Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel. Claudel’s story seems to have resonated with Lavoie the most, who was confined in a mental asylum in her later years, after a lifetime of trying to prove her worth as an artist. Portraying women primarily, Lavoe’s figures often appear weightless or confined to things like their beds and chairs in compromising positions. She surrounds them with birds in flight and butterflies, representing her subject’s coveted freedom and innermost fantasies. Gaetanne Lavoie will be exhibiting new works at Stricoff Fine Art in New York from November 5th to 17th, 2015.